Pistons More than Just Reggie Jackson
By Randy Renner
Former Thunder backup point guard Reggie Jackson returns to the floor at Chesapeake Energy Arena tonight and unlike several other former Thunder players who've moved on to other teams Jackson's welcome may not be very kind.
After all Jackson didn't have many kind things to say about Oklahoma City or the Thunder organization when he was trying to get out of town after tiring of being Russell Westbrook's backup.
At one point after team doctors had cleared him to play after an ankle injury Jackson declined to do so, even though he would started for an injured Westbrook. That sort of thing not only gets you in deep you know what with the fans but you also tend to lose the respect of your teammates.
Kevin Durant said at shootaround today he still considers Jackson not only a friend but a brother. But KD admitted he didn't appreciate what Jackson had to say and some of the things he did at various times during his last season in a Thunder uniform.
Jackson has been mostly good in Detroit where he signed a long term big money deal, five years for $80 million. He is the Pistons starting point guard, something he would never have been in OKC as long as Westbrook stayed around.
But Jackson and his 19.3 points per game average and 6.0 assists aren't the only things the Pistons will bring to the table tonight.
Andre Drummond has become an absolute beast for Detroit. He's coming off an 18-point, 20-rebound performance in Wednesday's 104-81 win in Miami. Drummond leads the NBA in rebounding at a whopping 17.8 a game, five more than anyone else in the league.
This may be one of those nights when the Thunder guards have to be even more adept at grabbing rebounds than usual. Nick Collison said at shootaround, "everyone will have to be involved" in cleaning the glass.
The Pistons starting five is solid but also inconsistent. One game great, another game terrible. That win in Miami where so many things went right, came after one of the Pistons worst performances of the season in a 109-88 loss at Milwaukee.
The other problem Detroit has is very little help from the bench, which averages just 22.3 points per game, dead last in the NBA.
That's an area where the Thunder could take advantage.
OKC is looking for it's longest winning streak of the season, four games. And since the next two are on the road at Atlanta and Miami, going into those games playing well would be a big boost.
Tipoff tonight is at 7:10 and you can see it on Fox Sports Oklahoma. Be sure to check out our Twitter feed page for live updates beginning during warmup sessions around 4 o'clock.